Rebirth in 1980: The Farm Wife Makes a Comeback
Chapter 362: Made by Ourselves

Chapter 362: Chapter 362: Made by Ourselves

"Xiang Yang, what do you think..." Li Dongsheng leaned his arm against the wall, having sighed countless times, "We have to get something for Commander Xu’s wedding, we’re definitely going to attend, and we can’t just go and eat for free. I can’t do that sort of thing."

Everyone has their pride, and I believe no one wants to be seen as freeloaders.

"This eh..." Qin Xiangyang chuckled, showing his neat white teeth, "I’ve got it all prepared, and it didn’t cost much."

"Prepared already?" Li Dongsheng hit his shoulder, a bit too hard, and Qin Xiangyang pushed away Li Dongsheng’s hand, "This isn’t a fight, why use such force?"

"I just got excited, you’ve got it all ready and didn’t tell us sooner?" Li Dongsheng hastily withdrew his hand and rubbed his arm, "Don’t blame me, right? Why didn’t you mention you’d already bought everything?"

"Tell us, what did you buy and how much did it cost? We’ll split it, I won’t let you lose out."

Li Dongsheng ran over, and the others also moved closer, encircling Qin Xiangyang almost suffocating him.

It was then that Qin Xiangyang remembered that he hadn’t mentioned this matter.

"Wait a second."

He stood up, and the wall of people instantly dispersed, opening a path for him. Qin Xiangyang walked to his locker, took out the keys from his pocket, unlocked it, and then took out a large bag, placed it on an empty lower bunk, and said,

"Let’s find some time to deliver this to the Commander, his wedding isn’t far off, they should be decorating their home by now."

"What is this?"

Impatient as always, Li Dongsheng had already opened the plastic bag, pulling out a rolled item. As he unrolled it, his eyes widened in astonishment, "My goodness, this is embroidery, just like your family’s screen."

Embroidery, an ancient skill traditionally known to maidens, has nearly vanished. It’s a cultural heritage that their people have largely lost, much of it irreplaceable.

Unrolled, the tapestry was quite large, approximately one meter tall and two meters long. With a frame, it would be very grand hung on a wall and was altogether fitting for their military status.

It featured the characters for ’everlasting happiness,’ a man in a military uniform, and a woman in a wedding dress — clearly meant for a military wedding. The features of the couple were vaguely reminiscent of Commander Xu and his wife.

"This one is even prettier," another eager person took out a large red bedding from the bag, embroidered with a large cartoon-like ancient characters, the kind with big heads and large eyes, with rosy cheeks all wearing phoenix crowns, their charming and cute appearance melting even these tough men’s hearts.

"Where did this come from?" Li Dongsheng curiously rolled up the tapestry and took out other items from the bag, including pillowcases, quilt covers, sheets, and cushions, each embroidered with similarly cartoonish designs. It was clear the skillful hands that made these were exceptionally talented and of considerable age, questioning how much money it would have cost to create these.

"How much were these?"

Li Dongsheng’s voice stuttered, he was calculating his monthly allowance, wondering if he’d afford a month’s staple of plain buns and pickles.

Maybe even skip the pickles, saving a few bucks.

This gift, no matter how expensive, was surely something their whole dormitory would pitch in for, not leaving Qin Xiangyang to bear the cost alone.

"I said it didn’t cost money," Qin Xiangyang grinned, then slapped the two-meter long ’Everlasting Happiness’ tapestry, "You guys just frame this, and we’ll find a time to deliver it to the Commander. It represents our dorm’s goodwill."

But the others, just like Li Dongsheng, were reticent, Li Dongsheng nervously wrung his hands, "We can’t take advantage of you, your family has our hardships too, so tell us how much this cost, and we’ll share it."

Everyone nodded, also indicating they didn’t want to take advantage of Qin Xiangyang.

"It really didn’t cost money," Qin Xiangyang raised his hands, surrendering, "Also, don’t bring up money again, asking you to frame it is indeed asking you to spend."

"It didn’t cost anything, how is that possible?" Li Dongsheng couldn’t believe it; surely this was letting them take advantage, a frame couldn’t be worth much, he’d cover it himself.

"It really didn’t cost money," Qin Xiangyang was anxious, sweating, "Why won’t anyone believe me when I tell the truth? My sister made this, it just took some time and fabric, really not worth much money. Look at this material," he picked up the red quilt cover, "the cloth isn’t expensive, just ordinary cotton, I really didn’t spend much."

"What?" Li Dongsheng’s eyes widened like cowbells.

"You mean, your sister hand embroidered this?"

"Yes," Qin Xiangyang nodded earnestly, "It was made by my sister, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and the Qingming River Painting at my home, you’ve seen it, that was embroidered by my sister too."

"But, wasn’t that painted?" Wang Hongbing murmured softly.

Qin Xiangyang rubbed his forehead.

"That, I never told you guys, that it was embroidered by my sister, and then turned into a screen?"

Everyone shook their heads.

As for Qin Xiangyang, he genuinely couldn’t remember whether he had mentioned it to his dorm mates or not, maybe yes, maybe no, and they never asked either.

Now that everyone heard it was personally embroidered by Qin Xiangyang, they felt much relieved. So, they were indeed not spending much, just some time and effort. In the future, they would work harder, help Qin Xiangyang with some farming, and repay this favor.

Finally, they happily went to find a place to frame it, and once it was ready, they would deliver it to the Commander. A modest gift yet full of heartfelt value, the gesture was generous, and though it didn’t cost much money, it was sure to win hearts and uphold their honor.